


Let the Rain Fall (And Wash Your Spirit Clean)

by songbook



Series: The Kyalin Collection [7]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:08:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28229664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/songbook/pseuds/songbook
Summary: A rainy day keeps our ladies indoors.
Relationships: Lin Beifong/Kya II
Series: The Kyalin Collection [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1807093
Comments: 16
Kudos: 153
Collections: 2020 KyaLin Solstice Exchange





	Let the Rain Fall (And Wash Your Spirit Clean)

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Sasha (havemercyonmercury) for the Kyalin Solstice Exchange 2020. The prompts were rainy day & cooking.

It was the pitter patter of rain on the window that woke Lin. There was a glow in the clouds outside as the sun tried to rise during the storm, but the clouds were blocking the rays of the morning. She would have to be at work in another hour, but the steady thrum of rain was lulling her back to sleep.

Reluctantly, she pushed herself off the mattress, her bare feet soundlessly landing on the wood floor. It was a short walk to the bathroom, where she tried to wake herself with a splash of water on her face. Habitually, she started the shower, letting it heat up. Looking into the mirror, Lin tried to wake herself for the day. A rainy Tuesday probably meant that her day would be spent doing paperwork.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the woman she had left in bed. There was silver hair and dark skin peeking out from the bundle of blankets. Kya usually dozed through Lin’s morning routine and would get up for her own day after Lin left for work. She looked so peaceful this morning; it would be a shame to leave her today.

An impulsive thought crossed Lin’s mind and she shut off the water to the shower. Leaving the bathroom, she went down the hallway to her office. The phone was in her hand and she was dialing the precinct before she had even thought this all the way through. Too late now.

“Republic City Police Department.”

“This is the Chief. I need to leave a message for Tani.” Tani had been her personal assistant for almost ten years now. Lin honestly didn’t know how she would manage without her. But it would be another half hour before she got into the office.

“Uh, hiya, Chief. What can I do for you?” The young cadet on the other end of the line had obviously not expected her call and was probably in the last few minutes of his shift, so Lin let the unprofessionalism slide this time.

“Tell Tani I won’t be coming in today.”

“Ma’am?”

“And tell her that I’m not to be contacted unless it’s an emergency,” she added hastily, before she could regret her decision.

“Yes, ma’am.”

She hung up without another word. Let the department chew on that for a while. Tani wouldn’t ask questions, but she knew that there would be rumors flying about why she was missing a day of work. It didn’t happen very often and usually it meant she was hospitalized.

But as Lin walked back to the bedroom, her heart felt light. This was the right choice, and she could afford to take a little time for herself. It was a rainy day, after all. Stepping into her bedroom and seeing her lover still curled up in her bed, she knew she wouldn’t regret it.

Lin slipped back between the blankets and wrapped a strong arm around Kya’s body. She pulled her in close, letting her senses be overwhelmed by Kya’s presence. Yes, she had made the right decision. Kya let out a little hum of satisfaction and Lin closed her eyes to listen to the rain falling outside her warm bed.

“You’re going to be late,” murmured Kya as she found Lin’s hand in the tangle of blankets and intertwined their fingers.

“I called in. They can handle it.”

Kya sat up straight in the bed and Lin let out a little huff of discomfort at the sudden change in position. Kya stared at her. “You called in?”

“Yeah, I told Tani I wouldn’t be coming in. They’re not supposed to call me unless it’s an emergency.”

“I must still be dreaming. Chief Beifong is playing hooky from work?” Kya’s lips were pulling into a teasing smile. “Maybe I should call the police…obviously there’s an imposter in my bed.”

Lin threw back the covers and started to slip back out of bed, saying, “Well, I guess I’ll just go to work then…”

“Nooooo…” Kya’s arms wrapped around her shoulders, dragging her back on the bed. A firm kiss was planted on her cheek and when she settled back into the pillows, she was rewarded with a kiss on the lips as well. Brilliant blue eyes were shining at her. “What possessed you to stay home today?”

“It’s raining,” replied Lin softly, as if it should be obvious.

Kya glanced out the window and said, “Well, look at that. It is.”

Lin stretched out her arms to invite Kya to lay down next to her. Kya rested her head on Lin’s chest, snuggling in close. Lin played with the long strands of her hair as they laid their together. This was certainly how a rainy day should be spent, lounging in bed with a lover instead of trudging into work. They laid there, together, with only the rain for company.

Eventually, it was Kya who had to leave the bed for the bathroom and Lin wandered into the kitchen to put on the kettle. As the water heated, she grabbed two mugs from the cabinet. She found the tea leaves that Kya preferred and pulled down the bag of coffee grounds for herself.

There was some leftover congee in the icebox, and she pulled out some bowls to spoon some breakfast out. She warmed the bowls on the stove and fetched some nuts and berries to add on top. It was simple, but this morning it seemed that simplicity was the way to go. The kettle started whistling and she quickly prepped the tea and coffee.

Strong arms wrapped around her middle as she pulled the congee off the heat and she felt soft lips press a few kisses to her neck. “Are you making breakfast? Hmm…maybe it should rain more often.”

Kya was wearing a gray robe and her long hair still hung loose over her shoulders. Lin loved it when she left her hair down. She knew her hair loops and ponytail were an important tradition, but she always liked the natural way her gray hair framed her face. Kya accepted her tea, inhaling deeply to take in the comforting scent.

She took her bowl and tea and headed towards the balcony. Lin made a face and said, “Kya, it’s raining.”

“I am a waterbender, dear.”

Lin shook her head in amusement and followed her outside. The rain was coming down steadily, but it wasn’t an all-out storm. Kya had stopped the water from falling directly on the small balcony by freezing a shelf of rain above them. There were two metal chairs and a small table out here for them to eat their breakfast.

A mist could still reach them, and Lin could feel the dampening of her skin as she ate, but it wasn’t unpleasant. Kya cradled her tea in her hands and her head was tilted back, eyes closed, as she took in the peaceful morning. The congee had been abandoned on the table after a few bites (although Lin did notice that she had managed to eat all the toppings off).

Moments like these were precious to Lin. She didn’t often have peaceful moments in her life, but most of the ones she did have involved Kya. Lin didn’t possess a calm nature and her job meant her life was constantly moving. But sitting here, in the rain, just watching Kya was exactly what she wanted out of life.

When she drank the last of her coffee, Lin gathered the bowls and headed back into the apartment. Kya was still having her meditative moment with the rain, but she didn’t mind. She dried herself off and cleaned the dishes. It then dawned on her that she had no idea what she was going to do all day. Chief Beifong didn’t take days off and the few times she wasn’t required to be in the office, she normally had something planned.

What now? What did you do on a rainy day?

“How about some morning yoga?” As if she had read Lin’s mind, Kya appeared behind her. Gone was the grey robe, replaced by a loose-fitting light blue wrap over a long pair blue tights. To Lin’s disappointment, her hair was pulled back now.

“Kya…”

“Yeah, yeah, you don’t do yoga.” Kya waved her hands dramatically around her. “You also don’t call in to work. So, come do yoga with me. It’s a rainy day.”

Lin glanced around the kitchen for a moment before looking back at Kya. The waterbender had a smirk on her face and she was right of course: what else did she have to do? So, she followed Kya to the spare bedroom where the makeshift gym was. Her sparing mat made for a decent yoga studio apparently.

Kya dropped down to sit on the mat, legs out straight in front of her. She patted the ground next to her, indicating for Lin to join her. It wasn’t that Lin was strictly opposed to yoga in general; in fact, many of her stretches and exercises incorporated several yoga positions. She sat down next to her, stretching out her legs to match Kya.

“Ok, just follow what I do,” said Kya and she leaned out to touch her toes. “The most important thing is to remember to breath.”

A half hour later, Lin was having a hard time remembering to breath. Yoga was much more difficult than she remembered. Or maybe she was just out of practice. Either way, she was having a hard time holding the current pose. Kya of course, had executed every pose with perfection. It was taking every once of concentration to balance on one leg right now.

“Lin?”

“Hm?”

“Deep breath.”

Lin let out a deep breath as she let her elevated foot fall to the floor. With a groan, she said, “You know I love you, but I think I’m at my yoga-limit.”

Kya let out a light chuckle and resumed a standing position. “Just one more to relax your muscles.”

They kneeled back down on the mat and stretched out forward to end their session. This time it was easier for her to breath. She couldn’t help but take a peek at Kya. She had taken several peeks over the session. She loved watching Kya doing something that she loved. But this was her limit for doing yoga.

Once Kya released her from the yoga session, Lin found herself curled up on the couch with a good book. The rain thudded against the window as she read. A rainstorm was her second favorite time to read. It was the closest thing to true tranquility that she got. Her favorite time to read was late at night; it was as if she was in another world.

She felt the couch give a bit near her feet. Lowering her book, she saw Kya perched on the edge of the couch, wrapped in a quilt. Silently, she crawled up Lin’s body to lay down on top of her. “Oof. Kya, what are you doing?”

“Snuggling.”

“Kya…”

“Rainy day, remember?” Kya settled her hips between Lin’s legs and rested her head on her chest. Lin adjusted her arms to rest on Kya’s shoulders and propped her book up on her back. As she got back to the pages, the thought crossed her mind that this may be her favorite time to read.

A few hours later, both women were fast asleep, lulled by the storm outside and the warm of each other’s bodies. It was the grumble of hungry stomachs and stiff muscles that eventually woke them. Lin stroked Kya’s hair as they laid there together. She had abandoned the book and reading glasses on the coffee table ages ago.

“What do people eat on rainy days?” asked Lin, teasingly.

“Hmmm…” Kya snuggled in closer. “Soup.”

“I think there’s some bone broth in the ice box and there’s some vegetables that need to be eaten before they go bad.” Lin kissed the top of Kya’s head. “But you have to get off me first.”

“Hmmm…” Reluctantly, Kya pushed herself up off the couch. Lin groaned as she sat up and a few things in her back cracked that probably weren’t supposed to make that noise. She was going to regret laying on the couch like that for that long. Although how Kya seemed to be sashaying into the kitchen without any aches or pain was beyond her. Maybe it was all that yoga.

In the kitchen, Kya got out a large pot to put on the stove and started warming up the broth. Lin got to work, chopping the vegetables. Her knife set was old; ancient even. But they were in perfect working condition. They had been a gift from Aunt Mai years ago. Apparently, the knives weren’t just the perfect weight cutting food, but throwing as well.

Once Lin had a growing pile of carrots, celery, onions, mushrooms and some parsnips, Kya added them to the soup to simmer. There was a small amount of bok choy left over from dinner last night, so she threw that in too. Salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, and thyme went in next. There was already a lot of flavor in the bone broth, so it didn’t need much more seasoning. Kya stirred the pot, letting the vegetables soften.

Lin reached into a cabinet and pulled out a container of red pepper flakes. She leaned over Kya’s shoulder and sprinkled a generous amount into the soup. Kya took the opportunity to steal a kiss from her. And then another. Soon the soup was unattended while the two women enjoyed each other’s company.

It was a rainy day, after all. 


End file.
